1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a break apart stand for supporting plastic bags in an open position, for ease of loading and unloading objects from the plastic bag. More specifically, this invention relates to a break apart stand having opposing upright supports and base portions extending between the upright supports.
The upright support has a bottom portion with side portions extending from each end of the bottom portion, and a top portion extending between the side portions. The top portion is formed to receive and support the handle of a plastic bag thereon.
The base portions have hooking ends with apertures sized to closely receive raised pin portions extending from the bottom portion of the opposing upright supports, to form a break apart stand for supporting a plastic bag with handles in an open position.
The break apart stand may serve as a self supporting stand for supporting a plastic bag, or may serve as an insert for a wastebasket or trash receptacle to support the plastic bag in an open position within the wastebasket or receptacle during use.
Many grocery stores, drug stores and other retail businesses have switched from paper bags to plastic bags, or are in the process of doing so. Plastic bags have several inherent advantages over paper bags, such as providing bags with handles, providing improved tear strength, and providing improved moisture resistance
Plastic bags also have several inherent disadvantages, such as their inability to stand up unsupported, their difficulty to fold and store, their lack of bio-degradability, and their impracticality for reuse. The present invention is directed towards solving problems relating to the inability of plastic bags to stand up unsupported and their impracticality for reuse.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,467,989; 4,469,300 and 4,364,534 relate to collapsible wire racks for supporting plastic bags. The square base and side configurations restrict their use for insertion into standard waste containers which typically have tapered sides expanding towards the container opening for ease of drawing the container from the mold during fabrication, and for ease of stacking the containers during transport and storage.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,408 discloses a foldable support for plastic bags in which a pin is inserted in an aperture in the base to support the sides from the base. The sides and base are hinged to foldably guide the pin into the aperture provided.